Sleep Like the Dead by Alex Gray

Most of Scotland's major cities now boast a fictional detective
whose role, at least in part, is to bring to life the seamier nooks and
crannies that usually don't feature on tourist websites like this one. Alex
Gray's Detective Chief Inspector William Lorimer ably fulfils this role for
Glasgow, a city which, as the
Monday morning Scottish newspapers reveal on an almost weekly basis, has more
seamy nooks and crannies than most, and a reputation for violent crime
unmatched anywhere else in the country.

Alex Gray's skilfully woven plot involves the killing by a
professional hitman of one victim, and then two more as he seeks to track down
the money he was due to be paid for the first. The story is told from the point
of view of a wide range of characters, whose different narrative strands are
closely woven together: and while Glasgow is neve quite given a
voice, it is certainly given a leading role in the story. As a result we are
placed in turn in the shoes of DCI Lorimer; of several members of his team; of
the mysterious red-headed Marianne Brogan who is apparently at the centre of
the intrigue; of her brother, Billy, a drug dealer who has hurriedly left the
country with the money owed to the hitman; of the hitman himself; and of many
other equally believable characters.

The effect is of a mosaic being laid before your eyes, as different
elements fall into place and interconnect. One of the really interesting
aspects is that, although you only become aware of some key elements of the
intriguing back-story as the book nears its conclusion, it is not really a
"whodunnit". That becomes obvious very early on, and there are few secrets from
the reader when some of the murders are seen through the eyes of the killer.
But with that removed from the equation, the reader begins to focus instead on
the "whydunnit": and on who else the hitman, and other shadowy figures who
feature in the plot, might kill. Meanwhile you watch the development of the
police's investigation as they gradually become aware of what the reader
already knows, and as the book builds towards a violent conclusion set against
some of Glasgow's very modern
landmarks.